Return of the Stormcriers

CHAPTER 19 - DECISIONS

  Matt closed his eyes and reclined as far as he could reach under the surprisingly warm water of the bath. After a week on the road, most of it with his hands bound, he could feel his muscles slowly beginning to relax under the warmth. He needed this. Time to himself; time to think about everything that had been thrust upon him in the last several days. The surge of confidence he had felt during their meeting with Hal had begun to fade, but the spark of ambition still burned strong in his chest. He had never felt more driven towards a particular goal in his entire life. He had worked his family's fields because it was what was expected of him as the eldest son of a farmer; he and Mark had expected to inherit the farm together and work it for the rest of their lives. But now; now he had a real chance to avenge his family. All he needed to do was get into the good graces of the resistance.

Placing his now-ruined clothes from Riftwater in a neatly folded pile beside the large bath, replacing his garb with equally fine clothes provided by Duke Lucas' servants. He shook his head in amazement. He sincerely doubted that he would ever get used to such fine garb. It felt too smooth against his skin for it to be real. He laughed at himself, for the first time in a long time. After everything he had been through he should slap himself for complaining that something was too good for him.

  Exiting the washroom, he found his companions seated on the sofas beside a crackling fire roaring in the hearth. Anthony gave him a tired smile, waving him over to sit beside him while Will sat more tight-lipped than his brother. Sylvia ignored his entrance as she had since her uncle's death, too engrossed in the flames to pay him any mind. Matt sat beside Anthony allowing himself to sink into the sofa next to the young nobleman; a real sofa. He had heard of sofas before, adorning the sitting rooms of nobles and the richer folk of Verden, but he had never before even seen one, let alone sat upon one. He immediately understood the appeal of the furniture; the fabric cushions, stuffed with some sort of soft material that was as soft as the bed he had slept on in Riftwater.

  "If we are to survive this, we need to be completely honest with each other," Will broke the silence, staring directly at Matt. "I did not say anything before because we were never left alone, but I saw how nervous you got when they threatened to search your bag. I do not believe that you mean us any harm, that is why I convinced them that I had trapped it, but I need to know; what do you have in there that you did not want them to see?"

Matt hesitated before he spoke, startled by the forcefulness behind Will's words. For the briefest moment he weighed his options; why should he be forced to reveal every aspect of his life? Was there nothing he could keep for himself? It had quickly become second nature for him to hide this element of his story, although he could not explain why it would be such a bad thing if others knew about the pendant and the dagger. He quickly shook away the selfish thought. If he was to survive in this world he found himself in need of allies; true friends that he could trust completely just as Will was advocating for.

  He slowly nodded his head in assent. "I have never...lied to any of you," he chose his words carefully, trying to decide how best to explain himself without pushing them any further away. They needed to know that he had only the best of intentions. "I can honestly say that I told you the truth... but I may not have told you all of it. If you stay here I will show you the rest of my tale." He rose quickly from the sofa and hurried to where his bag had been placed in the crowded bed chamber, barely pausing to check the reactions on his friends' faces. Will and Anthony watched him go with interest, while Sylvia's eyes remained glued on the roaring fire, her gaze a million miles away.

His heart thumped heavily in his chest as he approached his bag; had the resistance lied about not searching its contents? Had they already seen what he had been hiding? With trembling fingers, he reached into the canvas bag and peered in at his meager packings. To his immense relief, tucked away beneath his extra pair of clothes lay the iridescent dagger, just as he had left it.